1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile apparatus for transmitting and receiving image information in the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
An Internet facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting and receiving image information in the Internet has been put into practical use.
In the case where a user with an Internet facsimile apparatus communicates with another user also with an Internet facsimile apparatus, they transmit and receive image information attached e-mail by Internet. On contrast, in the case where a user with an Internet facsimile apparatus communicates with another user with an ordinary facsimile apparatus, they transmit and receive image formation by telephone line network.
And an Internet facsimile apparatus also works as a relay apparatus to transfer the received image information by Internet to a facsimile apparatus by telephone line network.
FIG. 1 is a concept diagram illustrating the case where information is transmitted from an Internet facsimile apparatus to an ordinary facsimile apparatus.
In the case of transmitting facsimile data from Internet facsimile apparatus 11 to ordinary facsimile apparatus 12, two transmission methods are considered. One is via public switched telephone network as routing A illustrated in FIG. 1, and another one is via Internet as routing B to routing C illustrated in FIG. 1
In the transmission method via Internet, image information is transmitted by e-mail to Internet facsimile apparatus 13 working as a relay apparatus, the image information is converted to facsimile data at Internet facsimile apparatus 13, then the facsimile data is transferred to ordinary facsimile apparatus 12.
Generally, since the communication cost by e-mail is inexpensive, the communication cost can be reduced by using Internet facsimile apparatus 13 locating distance to facsimile apparatus 12 as a relay apparatus.
However in the case of transferring image information by a conventional Internet facsimile apparatus, since an operator needs to input an e-mail address and others of the Internet facsimile apparatus as a relay apparatus besides a facsimile number of facsimile apparatus of the final destination, the operation is complicated. And it has the problem that the header information of sender and others is not transferred as image information into a facsimile apparatus of the final destination.
The object of the present invention is to acquire the same output image as that obtained by telephone line network at the facsimile apparatus of the final destination when image information is transmitted via the Internet, by inputting only a facsimile number of facsimile apparatus of the final destination to transmit.
In the present invention, the above object is achieved by storing at a server e-mail addresses of Internet facsimile apparatus as a relay apparatus corresponding to facsimile numbers of facsimile apparatus of the final destination, transmitting an e-mail attached a relay transfer instruction command with a facsimile number of facsimile apparatus of the final destination to the Internet facsimile apparatus at the e-mail address notified by the server, and extracting at the Internet facsimile apparatus as a relay apparatus the facsimile number of facsimile apparatus of the final destination from the relay transfer instruction command attached to the e-mail.